The Kotaneelee Formation is a

stratigraphical Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...

unit of Late Cretaceous

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the

Kotaneelee River The Kotaneelee River is a river in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a tributary of the Liard River. It gives the name to the Kotaneelee Formation, a stratigraphical unit of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Course The Kotanee ...

, and was first described in outcrop in the river valley by C.O. Hage in 1945.Hage, C.O., 1945. Geological reconnaissance along the lower Liard River, British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 45-22.

Lithology

The Kotaneelee Formation is composed of marine

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

, sandstone,

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

Distribution

The Kotaneelee Formation has a thickness of to . It occurs in outcrop along the

Petitot River Petitot is a river in northern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. It is a tributary of the Liard River. Petitot River originates from Bistcho Lake in northwestern Alberta, and flows westwards along the northern borders of Alberta and Bri ...

and

Liard River The Liard River of the North American boreal forest flows through Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Rising in the Saint Cyr Range of the Pelly Mountains in southeastern Yukon, it flows southeast through British Co ...

valleys from the Beaver River to the

mouth.

Relationship to other units

The Kotaneelee Formation is gradually overlain by the Wapiti Group and conformably overlays the

Dunvegan Formation The Dunvegan Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Cenomanian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the settlement of Dunvegan, Alberta, and was first described in an outcrop on Peace River near Dunvegan by George ...

. It is equivalent to the

Wapiabi Formation The Alberta Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cenomanian to early Campanian age in the Lewis overthrust in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the province of Alberta, and was first described in outcrops along the High ...

in Alberta.

References

{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Liard_River=yes, Fort_Nelson=yes Geologic formations of British Columbia Geologic formations of the Northwest Territories Sandstone formations of Canada Shale formations